 | Tips & News for the Info-Literati |
| Tips & News for the Info-Literati |
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Percentage of individuals using the Net within ethnic groups, as of Sept. 2001 (YIL, April 2002):
60.4 Asian American "If you want to know where the nearest nuclear power plant is, don't count on the Web helping you out. The Feds have removed such details from government Web sites since the September 11 terror attacks" (YIL, January, 2002, p. 26). "A House subcommittee gave the Defense Department an F for failing to take computer security measures despite reliable data showing that more than 20 countries are developing cyberwarfare techniques" (YIL, January, 2002, p. 28). Slowest Loading (worst performing) Government Web Sites (from YIL):
"In 2000, MCI WorldCom settled with the FCC for $3.5 million for "slamming" (the practice of switching consumers' long-distance service without consent)... confirms our suspicion that the multiplicity of calling plans exists primarily to confuse customers... three MCI telecom services made the Top 10 worst rated companies list on PlanetFeedback... 89 percent of consumers voted against recommending the service to others" (Internet Yahoo Life, May 2002, 67). "Today, times have changed and a wide array of personal information is stored electronically and often shared and collected by others, including the government. It is estimated that information on every man, woman, and child in this country is traded an average of five times a day." (from an ACLU newsletter dated 4/25/02). "Garnet inc.. estimates that just over 1 percent of Net transactions are fraudulent, and it concludes that credit card fraud is 19 times greater online than off" (Yahoo Internet Life, May 2002, 16). "Applied Digital Solution's 'VeriChip' may be the most Orwellian technology yet. The device is the size of a grain of rice, can be implanted beneath human skin, provides foolproof identification, and has location-tracking capabilities" (Yahoo Internet Life, May 2002, 16). "Technology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God's gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences" (Freeman Dyson). Nanomotor Made From Single DNA Molecule "A University of Florida chemistry professor has made a "nanomotor" from a single DNA molecule. The motor, so small that hundreds of thousands could fit on the head of a pin, curls up and extends like an inchworm... "The first use of DNA motors is already beginning to emerge in the form of biosensors, said Hiroaki Yokota, a nanomotor researcher at Osaka University in Japan. These are instruments that researchers use to detect a very specific piece of DNA that may be related to disease... "Down the road, it is anticipated that nanomotors will play an active role in clinical treatment. For example, these ultra-small devices could be injected along with drugs that kill cancer cells or tumors, Tan said. When the drugs reach the disease site, the nanomotors would make the drug molecules attach and stick to the cancer cell membrane, Tan said. "Perhaps more importantly, the motors' precision would give them the ability to prevent the drugs from attaching to noncancerous molecules or healthy parts of the body -- eliminating the debilitating effects, for example, of chemotherapy drugs." Internet Radio Sites Facing Royalties FeesRodney Ho in New York Times "Internet radio broadcasters are fighting a federal plan to make them pay a new form of royalty to record companies that some say will put them out of business..."Traditional AM/FM radio is exempt from paying these types of royalties under the principle that airplay is promotional. But record labels and artists for decades have felt cheated and - via the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 - believe they can at least get royalties off Web sites that stream music to listeners." |